Lutheran Church of the Covenant. Johann Sebastian Bach, Patrick Aaron Parker, Organ Complete Works of Bach, Recital III

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1 Lutheran Church of the Covenant Johann Sebastian Bach, Patrick Aaron Parker, Organ Complete Works of Bach, Recital III

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3 Prelude and Fugue in C Minor Friday, 15 April 2011, 7:00 PM Erbarm dich mein, o Herre Gott (Have Mercy on Me, O My God) Partita on Sei gegrüsset, Jesu gutig (I Greet Thee, Merciful Jesus) Herzlich thut mich verlangen (My Heart is Filled with Longing, or O Sacred Head Now Wounded) Passacaglia This evening s program is constructed as a prelude to Holy Week. The program begins and ends with free works in C Minor, the key of angst. The center of the program is Bach s largest chorale partita, and two small chorale preludes link the three large works. The Prelude and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 546 has an interesting history. Unlike most of Bach s prelude and fugue sets, this set was not conceived as a pair. The prelude comes from his mature years at Thomaskirche in Leipzig, while the fugue is from the earlier Weimar period. Bach paired the two late in life for practical church service reasons. The prelude has two ideas: a) two choirs imitating each other and b) music idiomatic to the keyboard. The fugue has five voices rather than four but is otherwise traditional: each voice enters independently; then there is an episode of new music derived from the melody of the fugue; finally, the fugue closes with a coda. Erbarm dich mein, o Herre Gott is a simple, beautiful chorale prelude whose melody is in long notes over a faster moving accompaniment. The Lenten text of the chorale is: Have mercy on me, O Lord God, according to your great kindness. Wash me, make clean my wrongdoing. I confess my sin and repent; I have sinned against you only. I am constantly aware of it; even the best may not stand in your sight, You are just, though you condemn me. Partita on Sei gegrüsset, Jesu gutig is a set of eleven variations on the chorale I Greet Thee, Merciful Jesus. Bach harmonizes the theme as a hymn and then deviates into inventive variations. The chorale is translated: Jesu, Saviour, heed my greeting, kind and gentle is Thy being: long the torture Thou hast suffered, deep the insults to Thee offered. Let me all Thy love inherit and meet death in Thy sure merit. Jesu, master, dearest treasure, Christ, my Saviour, my heart s pleasure, hands and pierced side, o show me, give me grace in Heaven to know Thee. Let me all Thy love inherit and meet death in Thy sure merit. On my sins look Thou with pity, Christ, Who bearest all men s frailty; faints my heart, my soul doth languish, Thou alone canst heal my anguish. Let me all Thy love inherit and meet death in Thy sure merit. Sweet refreshment floweth freely to Thy children stayed upon Thee; on Thy Passion firm relying nought I fear the test of dying. Let me all Thy love inherit and meet death in Thy sure merit.

4 Herzlich thut mich verlangen, which we recognize as O Sacred Head Now Wounded, is a short, simple, but profound chorale prelude. The melody is presented on the solo oboe, with a soft accompaniment and bass pedal line which supports the piece. Bach s Passacaglia is one of his most famous works: it has been transcribed for orchestra, nearly every type of chamber group, and solo piano. The great 19 th Century German composer Robert Schumann described the variations of the passacaglia as "intertwined so ingeniously that one can never cease to be amazed." A passacaglia is a set of variations over a constantly repeating bass idea which is first presented by itself. There are twenty variations in Bach's Passacaglia, culminating with a triple fugue. The Passacaglia builds to a climax in variation twelve, then there is repose for three variations. Bach then intensifies the final five variations which segue into the fugue. The final triple fugue uses three distinct subjects that are all derived from the original bass theme. No one before or since Bach has successfully composed a triple fugue. Patrick Parker, 5 March 2011 Patrick Aaron Parker ( is a vocalist, organist, and pianist in Cleveland, Ohio who has carved a niche in the repertoire of Bach and Brahms. Since April 2010, he is Director of Music and Organist at The Lutheran Church of the Covenant in Maple Heights, Ohio where he plays the thirty-rank 1981 Schlicker organ. As baritone, Patrick was section leader of Case Western Reserve University s Concert Choir and performed as soloist with the ensemble. He currently studies with Dr. Marc Weagraff, faculty voice lecturer at Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music. As organist, he began concertizing the twenty hour cycle of the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach in October 2010, which he will complete over the next several years. In June 2011, he will also perform the complete organ works of Johannes Brahms. While in Cleveland, he has appeared on concert series at Trinity Cathedral, Church of the Covenant (Presbyterian), Trinity Lutheran Church, and Christ Episcopal Church; he has also performed at Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio. Patrick has performed in master classes with his mentor Jon Gillock, as well as Ken Cowan, Craig Cramer, David Higgs, Yuko Hiyashi, Donald Sutherland, and Tom Trenney. He has performed recitals sponsored by the American Guild of Organists, and in 2010 was an audition-based scholarship recipient of the Cleveland, Ohio chapter. In June 2011, he completes the degree Master of Music in Organ Performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studies with Todd Wilson. As pianist, Patrick graduated Bachelor of Arts in Music, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, December While at UNCG, he completed an assistantship from the Office of Undergraduate Research on French composers Les Six. He performed over 200 songs with singers, collaborated with instrumentalists in chamber group and duo settings, and premiered several compositions. Principle teachers at UNCG were Dr. John Salmon and Dr. Iñara Zandmane, piano and Robert Burns King, organ. In North Carolina, Patrick was Director of Music at Magnolia Street Baptist Church where he was organist and choirmaster and began a concert series. In 2008, he received the performer s certificate at Malcolm Bilson s Art of the Fortepiano class at Roosevelt Academy, Middelberg, the Netherlands.

5 Art of the Covenant Presents Lorraine Johnson-Davis Lorraine is a native of Louisiana. In her early years she enjoyed creating clothing for her dolls and had the idea that she would choose fashion as a career. Following this idea she studied at the Nantucket Island School of Design and then the Parsons School of Design. During these years of study she realized her true love was for acrylic painting and her focus shifted. She began to study at the Cleveland Institute of Art and she now possesses an Associates of Art Degree. Lorraine's subjects include ethnic art, spiritual abstracts, still lifes and commission work. She views her work as a contribution to the preservation of history from the past, present and the future on a sociological level. Lorraine has also attended many workshops including study in Acapulco with the Flying Colors Workshop. Her work has been exhibited in many galleries and shows as well as in collected by many people privately and corporately. Lorraine Johnson-Davis work is presented in the Art of the Covenant gallery of The Lutheran Church of the Covenant. The opening reception begins at 8:00 p.m. on April 15 with an informal lecture by Lorraine with an artwalk to follow.

6 The Lutheran Church of the Covenant Presents Bach Project 2011 In Celebration of the 30 th Anniversary of the Installation of its Schlicker Organ Recital I February 18, 7:00 P.M. Piece d Orgue, Canonic Variations on Vom Himmel Hoch, Prelude and Fugue in E Minor Wedge, and other selections Recital II April 15, 7:00 P.M. Prelude and Fugue in C Minor BWV 546, Partita on Sei gegrüsset, Jesu gütig, Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor Recital III May 20, 7:00 P.M. Orgelbüchlein

7 The organ at Lutheran Church of the Covenant is located in the west gallery of the church. It was built in 1980 by the Schlicker Organ Company of Buffalo, New York and installed in January The instrument is a tracker-action organ with electric stop action. It contains 1472 pipes making up the 30 ranks. The case is solid oak stained to a rich brown. The console is detached of solid oak with grenedilla naturals and pecan nut sharps for the manual keys; maple naturals and rosewood sharps for the pedal keys. The Pedal and Hauptwerk divisions are at the main level of the case and the Schwellwerk division is at the top middle of the case. Hauptwerk Schwellwerk 8 Prinzipal 8 Rohrfloete 8 Holzgedeckt 8 Gemshorn 4 Oktav 4 Prinzipal 4 Rohrfloete 4 Koppelfloete 2 Waldfloete 2 2/3 Nasat IV Mixtur 2 Prinzipal 16 Holzdulzian 1 3/5 Terz 8 Trompete III Scharff Chimes 8 Oboe Schwellwerk/Hauptwerk Tremelo Pedal 16 Subbass 8 Offenbass 4 Choralbass II Auszug IV Mixtur 16 Faggott Hauptwerk/Pedal Schwellwerk/Pedal

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